Television
Mayim Bialik walks off ‘Jeopardy!’ set leaving Ken Jennings as sole host
Mayim Bialik has decided against hosting the final week of filming, but why?
While plenty of films and TV shows have been impacted by the writers strike, it looks as though ‘Jeopardy!’ may be the first game show to be affected.
This comes after host Mayim Bialik decided she won’t host the final week of filming for Season 39, showing solidarity with the Writers Guild of America as per Deadline.
However, production for the final few episodes of the season are moving forward as Ken Jennings will take over the remainder of Bialik’s filming.
The show is a WGA show and features contributions from WGA writers, though the questions for the season were written in advance.
The final episodes of the season will be filmed at the Sony Pictures lot in Culver City from Tuesday, May 16 to Friday, May 19.
Bialik and Jennings and their hosting duties
Bialik and Jennings have shared hosting duties since longtime host Alex Trebek passed away in November 2020 following a battle with stage four pancreatic cancer
Jennings hosted the first run of episodes from August to December this season, while Bialik started in January. However, Jennings will now host the final week due to Bialik’s decision.
While Bialik initially faced opposition from some longtime fans of the show, she noted that her harshest critic is her mother during an appearance on ‘The Late Late Show with James Corden’ back in September 2022.
“She will send me screenshots of every episode in case I forgot what I was wearing in that particular episode, and I’ll get a little report like, ‘I really like this blazer, not so crazy about this top,’” said Bialik.
“She has a whole half-hour. Find a better screenshot, you know?”
News of Bialik’s absence comes after ‘Jeopardy!’ writers, including Michele Loud, Jim Rhine and Billy Wisse, all joined the picket lines as part of the WGA strike.
“Our words are on the screen every night. There is no ‘Jeopardy!’ without writers,” Loud told Variety.
“Without us it’s just an empty blue screen.”
‘Jeopardy!’ is the most-watched show in syndication with around 9 million weekly viewers. It’s also the second most-watched same-day entertainment show on television behind ‘60 Minutes’.